No fines issued by hospitals under Ontario's new long-term care law: province, OHA

No one has been fined in Ontario so far under a new law that can require patients to pay a daily $400 penalty if they refuse to move from a hospital to a long-term care home not of their choosing, the province and its hospitals say.

No one has been fined in Ontario so far under a new law that can require patients to pay a daily $400 penalty if they refuse to move from a hospital to a long-term care home not of their choosing, the province and its hospitals say.

But families and advocates argue the threat posed by the law is pushing patients into nursing homes they wouldn't otherwise choose.

The law, which went into effect in September, can move discharged patients into nursing homes they didn't consent to. Patients in southern Ontario can be moved to homes up to 70 kilometres away, while those in northern Ontario can be moved up to 150 kilometres away.

The legislation is aimed at so-called "alternative level of care" patients who no longer need to be in hospital and are awaiting spots in long-term care. The government has said the law can free up much-needed hospital beds.

Hospitals say they've been reticent to employ the law, but placement co-ordinators incorporate discussion of it in their chats with patients.

"The hospital community is very uncomfortable with this kind of adversarial position," said Anthony Dale, CEO of the Ontario Hospital Association.

Hospital co-ordinators bring up the law to help patients understand "wider circumstances" when the time comes for them to consider moving to long-term care, Dale said.